​This week’s shows were the definition of a mixed bag. Each show had some very good and some very bad. I don’t feel either side won convincingly. To me this week’s matchup goes in the column of a draw. Why do I think this? Well, let’s take a look at the good and the bad from this week.

Strong K-O-pener - Despite missing a key part of the story (more on that later), this segment delivered in every way. I loved Owens’s promo turning the crowd in the blink of an eye. I loved Seth coming out and not being over the top baby face. Seth is getting a slow subtle turn, which always works so much better. Then the conflict between Mick and Stephanie was tremendous especially given that he cut her legs out from under her as she has done so often to the other men on the roster. Everything about this segment worked for me.

Sasha- Fierce - This was not executed perfectly. Sasha got lost a little at the beginning, but she did settle in and deliver a believable, passionate speech that even had me wondering if it was something legit. Once Dana came out it was obvious this was all part of the story. The part I liked about this was that I saw an improvement in Sasha’s promo. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than what we have seen from her on the main roster.

The In Ring is the Thing - The best part of this week’s RAW were the matches. Owens and Sami had another excellent match. Jericho and Rollins put together a tremendous match that I sort of wish they hadn’t given away for free. Seth now being a face fits his move set so much better. He had great chemistry with Jericho, and I would love to see a full program between these two at some point. I also loved the in-ring story telling by Cesaro and Sheamus.

​Honorable Mention - The best friend skits with Jericho and Owens might be the best thing on RAW right now. These guys have all the chemistry and gravitas that the League of Nations never did. This pairing should have a nice long run as a faction and maybe even add a piece to the group.

Invisible Hunter - I am always a fan of a slow burn angle. That’s not what last week was. Last week was a monumental shift in direction. Triple H was at the center of that shift, and this week we got ZERO follow-up. Hell, we barely got a mention of Hunter at all. Owens doesn’t need Hunter’s help to get over as a heel, but to not tell the story or even hint around to a future explanation was really strange and left a huge specter hanging over everything.

Oh Hey, Bayley vs. Charlotte… Well that’s Done - So we are 3 weeks into Bayley on the main roster, and we are all out of ideas on how to build her? We have already reached the point where all we can do is give her a non-title win over the champion? So Bayley wins, and we no longer have any anticipation for seeing this match. As well as Smackdwon has handled their women’s division, RAW has been totally misguided.

It’s an Old Day… Change the Channel- I have beaten to death the notion of these horrible skits damaging Gallows and Anderson. This week set the bar to a whole new low. These old jokes might make a bit more sense if they were in a feud with the Dudley’s, but they aren’t. Also let’s try this experiment… Kofi 35 y/o, Xavier 30 y/o, Big E 30 y/o, Gallows 32 y/o, Anderson 36 y/o. So for those of you scoring at home, the oldest guy in this feud is Anderson, and Gallows is older than 2 of the 3 members of New Day. I can throw aside the lack of logic in wrestling if it’s entertaining, but this wasn’t. This was old school Vince booking. It reminded me of when they would have a little person dress up as Bret Hart to allow DX to make fun of him. The crowd was dead silent, meaning this creative has taken all the heat off of Anderson and Gallows. Even the New Day couldn’t make this entertaining. This has accomplished one thing though. It has made me long for the horrible booking of New Day/Wyatts.

​Honorable Mention- I have no issue with the Shining Stars going over Monday. In fact, I support it. I think this tag division is weak, and teams that can work need to be built up. On top of all that Enzo and Cass aren’t hurt by the loss. That said, the pretend child birth by Enzo at the opening would have been the most cringe worthy part of the show were it not for the Old Day segment. This makes me worry these guys may be running out of ideas. Lastly, Bo Dallas debuted a new persona…sort of. He came out with the same goofy gimmick, but now all of the sudden he is intense and dangerous. He showed fire and passion. I have no issue with any of this except one part. This is a complete fundamental shift for this character with no story leading to it or explanation afterwards.

He’s feeling Randy - Orton’s promo emulating Bray’s fable-like narrative was tremendous. His delivery and tone were perfect. It’s really strange I have never been a big Randy Orton fan, but since his return I have enjoyed everything he has done. Very strange how sometimes a guy can flip a switch towards the end and find that thing that had been missing for years.

Women in the Spotlight and the Black light - If I told you a year ago the longest match on a WWE show would be a woman’s six person tag, you would call me crazy. Well, that’s exactly what happened on SmackDown Live last night. I thought all the ladies were given a chance to showcase themselves in the match. Nikki looks to be getting much more comfortable in the ring now that she’d back. Alexa showed once again she is a star in waiting. This girl has moves, charisma, presence, and the all-important IT factor. I thought this match did a nice job setting up the 6 pack challenge at Backlash.

Finishing Strong-ish - The AJ/ Dean segments on this show were not great. The Dean and Ziggler segments leading up to SummerSlam were much better. That said this segment ends up here because it was vastly better than the finishing exchange between the two the week before. Yes, there was a bit too much comedy here, but Dean’s line of not giving trophies to “The face that finishes in second place” was pretty good. All in all, I am excited to see this match and hope it ends with AJ as champ.

​Honorable Mention - The backstage segment with the Miz and the SmackDown authority figures was good. I feel like the Miz’s mic work here really showed you what you could have and should have had with a Miz vs. Bryan as GM angle. The back and forth is entertaining, and Miz is reaching Jericho-like levels in his promo work.

Alpha Dogged - So you take the hot young team up from NXT. You don’t make a big deal of them on your debut episode. You debut them the following week and do a decent job showcasing them up to that point. Then you have a tournament (more on that later as well) to crown the first ever Smackdown Tag Champions. They win a spot in the finals, and you do an angle taking them out. So now your best and most exciting young talent will not even be competing on your first Smackdown-only special event. The worst part is that this angle was likely shot to push the Slater and Rhyno story.

Tag Me Out, Part 2 - I said last week they were screwing up the Tag Title Tournament. I had no idea the lengths to which they would screw it up. They set up the brackets so that you get the best match of the tournament in the semi-finals. That notwithstanding, I got excited to see the American Alpha/ Usos match. Then it happened. 30 seconds later Usos were heels and Alpha was in the finals. Then we get to see the Hype Bros vs. Slater and Rhyno. As expected the comedy team won over the established young team that you are trying to build up. Setting up the finals of Alpha v. Slater/ Rhyno. Except no. On Smackdown Live we are informed that the injury angle after the match will take Alpha off the PPV. So in any other tournament ever that would mean Slater and Rhyno are the champs. This is not the case in this tournament though because they have a “better” plan. So what we will see The Hype Bros vs. The Usos at Backlash with the winner facing Slater and Rhyno later in the night. Basically to sum up the Hype Bros (that new team you need to build up) will now lose twice in the same tournament. Meanwhile the Usos assault someone after a match, damaging your tag title finals and instead of being fined and suspended they are rewarded with a second chance to win the titles. I can’t wait for Backlash to see the titles decided between the comedy act and a team that has already lost in the single elimination tournament. Way to make those belts special right off the bat.

Mizzing the Point - We are two weeks removed from Miz being the hottest thing in wrestling. Now he is back to a mid-card nothing program with Ziggler. The exchange on Smackdown between the two went nowhere. The segment was boring and really did nothing to set this match apart from the hundreds they have already had for the same title.

Honorable Mention - I think every week that Kane does one of these walk out and destroy some random guy (this week Fandango) skits, it will end up here.

​So those were my bests and worsts from RAW and SmackDown this week. I'd love to hear your opinions, so visit our forums and let me know what you think. Also, listen to The Rundown this week as I am sure I will be arguing some of these with my fellow co-hosts.